


coreopsis

by orphan_account



Category: SHINee
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hanahaki Disease, M/M, Unrequited Love, but it's not really unrequited kibum is just dumb and gay, there are dogs involved
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-28
Updated: 2017-08-28
Packaged: 2018-12-20 19:25:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11927631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: kibum's guide to self-destruction: grow a flowerbed in your chest for that pink-haired beauty you met at your best friend's party.





	coreopsis

Coreopsis arkansa: In the language of flowers, it means love at first sight.

❁

Between the vicious thumping bassline and a very, _very_ clingy Jinki attached to his side, Kibum wasn’t really sure if he wanted to get a drink-- something alcoholic, preferably-- or bash his head into the wall. When Jinki had asked Kibum if he’d wanted to come over for a party, he didn’t quite expect… the amount of people he’d been greeted with, most being strangers. Actually, now that he thought about it, he had no idea Jinki knew this many people to begin with. What the hell. How did a kindergarten teacher have more friends than him? Nevermind that, how did said teacher have such a tolerance for alcohol? The more questions he asked himself, the more absolutely confused he got.

Sighing exasperatedly, Kibum gave his buzzed friend a light push. “I really wish you wouldn’t hang all over me. You’re going to end up spilling that on me,” he said, gesturing towards the shot glass Jinki was holding. He was met with a confused blink, before Jinki smiled awkwardly at him.

“Sorry… guess I should give it a break, huh--” He was cut off by a soft tune playing from his pocket. “Ah. That must be Minho or Taemin! Give me a second…” The task of fishing his phone from his pocket and unlocking it to read the text he’d received was, apparently, much harder for him whilst under the influence. Personally, Kibum found great enjoyment in watching Jinki struggle to remember his passcode, but he elected to hold his tongue. Loose-tongued as he may be, Jinki’s wrath was something he didn’t want brought upon him.

Kibum was pulled out of his thought cloud as a shocked gasp sounded from his side. His gaze slid back over to Jinki, who was staring at his phone with his jaw dropped slightly. He mumbled something that Kibum couldn’t quite grasp over the music. Someone should really turn that down.

“Come again?” Kibum inquired, leaning closer to (hopefully) catch what his friend had said to him.

Jinki turned his head to Kibum, flashing him one of his signature gummy smiles. “Jonghyun is finally back in town! He just texted me-- said he’d drop by the party before he went home. Ah, I’m so glad… he was gone for a whole _month_ on that photography trip…” Upon receiving no response from Kibum, Jinki’s smile dropped a bit and he gave the other a perplexed look. “What, don’t tell me that you don’t remember Jonghyun..!”

Jinki’s ability to tell what he was thinking could be frightening at times. Truthfully, the name Jonghyun didn’t ring a bell at all; not even a little. With a shrug, Kibum answered honestly, “No, I really have no idea who that is. Should I?”

Setting his drink down on a nearby table, Jinki pressed his palm to his forehead, feigning annoyance. “Aah, really… I came into Bau House with him once. He practically cried into one of the poodles. I very clearly remember you laughing at him before you had to go back to work.”

Kibum tilted his head, trying hard to remember. That… admittedly, did sound like something he’d do, but.. Nope. Nothing. He simply shook his head helplessly. Jinki only sighed a little in response.

“Alright, I’ll cut you some slack since you were really busy that day-- oh!” Jinki cut himself off again-- what was that, the third time tonight?-- and looked over towards the front door with a rather excited expression. “Look, look.. he managed to drag Taemin here too. Wonder how he did that, huh?”

Kibum was relieved to see someone besides Jinki whom he could recognize. It was a miracle, now that he thought about it, that someone had gotten Taemin to take a break from his job and come out, to a _party_ no less. He swore that, if Taemin had a choice, he’d dance all day. He was… a hard worker, to say the least. Kibum had always admired that about him.

As Kibum’s gaze wandered to the shorter male that Taemin was chatting with, it was like… Kibum didn’t know. Time almost seemed to slow down, the bassline of whatever song that was currently on softening to a low thrum. For a moment, he could perfectly understand why Jinki was surprised that Kibum couldn’t remember Jonghyun.

Jonghyun was… to put simply, gorgeous. Ethereal. The more he looked at the other, the more familiar he seemed; maybe they had met? But he looked a little different than the vague memory in his mind. _He seems… maybe he put on more weight? His cheeks look soft… How cute._

Kibum was startled out of his thoughts by the feeling of an elbow bumping into his side. “You’re doing that thing again, Kibum.” Jinki said to him in a half-whisper, lips spread into a teasing smile. Ah. That thing-- Kibum knew he had a habit of staring at boys he found attractive, but he never realized when he was doing it. Thank God Jinki was there to snap him out of it.

...Though, he was a little disappointed that he couldn’t admire such a pretty face some more. Just a little.

Jinki waved the two newcomers over, calling _“Taaemiiniiee”_ in a sing-songy voice just to make sure that they’d noticed him. As the two made their way over, Kibum indulged himself in one more look over Jonghyun. Well, he wasn’t entirely hopeless when it came to fashion. Maybe a little dull-- most of his outfit consisted of plain black-- but that was easy to fix. Not everyone looked good with pink hair, but.. Kibum had to admit, it suited Jonghyun quite nicely. Not to mention it was appealing to the eye.

“Hey there, you two,” Jinki greeted Taemin and Jonghyun upon their arrival, “Jonghyun-- not drinking tonight?”

Jonghyun shook his head a little, a little smile-- that Kibum found _very_ pretty-- gracing his lips. “No, I have to drive tonight, and.. I was hoping to develop some of these pictures I took before going to sleep.”

Taemin piped up, eyes twinkling with what Kibum could only identify as pure, unadulterated _mischief._ “And, the last time he drank, by the end of the night he was--” Jonghyun, seeming to sense what Taemin was about to reveal, pivoted on his feet and tried to cover the taller boy’s mouth. It didn’t work, however, as Taemin jerked his head to the side and continued, trying his best not to laugh as he just barely held Jonghyun away, “--he- he was grinding on everyone on the dance floor close enough to him!”

Kibum could almost see the steam rising from Jonghyun’s face; he was that embarrassed. Kibum himself was trying his best not to lose it and laugh right there, a hand raised to cover his mouth and any sound that may escape it. That didn’t go unnoticed by Jonghyun, however, as he whipped around to fix Kibum with a weak glare.

“Yaah… I just got back from a trip, you know! I’m tired and worked hard, so you should be kinder to me..” He whined out, arms crossed across his chest. Kibum almost felt bad-- almost. Jonghyun was trying his best to be taken seriously, and yet… With such a puppy dog looking pout on his face, it was hard for Kibum not to laugh even more.

Allowing a smirk to rise on his face, Kibum chipped in, “Maybe you should go get a few drinks and find someone to grind on. Might make you feel better.” Jinki and Taemin seemed to find great delight in what he’d said. He grew a little concerned that Jonghyun had taken what he’d said seriously when the other’s bottom lip began to tremble, but it was with great delight that Kibum realized that Jonghyun was just barely concealing his own laughter.

By the end of the night, Kibum was a little bit more than tipsy, laughing and having a good time with his three friends, and he’d even gotten Jonghyun’s number somewhere inbetween all the drinking and teasing.

All in all, a fantastic night.

❁

Kibum awoke the next morning in his flat with a terrible headache, and more importantly, nausea. He’d just barely made it to the bathroom and crouched over the toilet before he was dry heaving over the porcelain bowl, little tears pricking his eyes. He was a little more than startled when he opened his eyes and found that, among the bile that he’d expelled from his system, there was something… new in the bowl. One, two-- three flower petals floated in the water, oddly untouched looking, seeing as how he’d just… thrown them up? That was.. strange, to say the least. What the hell had he been drinking last night, exactly? As far as Kibum was aware, nothing with flower petals in it. He reached up to rub a bit of spittle away from his bottom lip, stiffening when something soft touched his finger. He pulled whatever it was from his lip, frowning deeply when it was yet another flower petal.

Turning the small petal over in his fingers, Kibum tilted his head and leaned against the toilet. They were pretty little things, mostly yellow with a little bit of red near one end. Briefly, he wondered what kind of flower it was, when he realized he was getting ahead of himself. Firstly, he had to find out why exactly he was throwing up _flower petals._

**kibum**  
Sent at 11:30AM  
dude. what the hell kind of drinks were you serving last night? shit with flower petals in them?  
(✓read at 11:35AM) 

**tofu**  
Sent at 11:36AM  
Someone’s not in a good mood this morning. Flower petals? I don’t think so. Why?  
(✓read at 11:36 AM) 

**tofu**  
Sent at 11:41AM  
...Kibum??? 

Kibum sat on his bed, gazing at his phone in confusion. So Jinki hadn’t set out anything at his party with flower petals in them-- Why would he? Unless he was trying to go for the “fancy party drink” look, which he definitely hadn’t been. Running his fingers through his dyed locks, Kibum resigned himself to a simple search engine search.. though he hardly expected he’d find any helpful results. 

Leaning back against the headboard of his bed, Kibum sat there thoughtfully, wondering what exactly he _should_ search. Shrugging, Kibum simply typed into the search bar: _throwing up flower petals_

__Kibum was surprised, to say the least, that actual results came up. Not even one or two, but tens-- no, more than that, perhaps. Most of them were news articles or blog entries, but one search result in particular caught his eye: **Hanahaki Disease: Description, Symptoms, Diagnosis & Treatment**_ _

__Kibum quirked an eyebrow. The name sounded rather familiar, and he was sure he’d had a few high school friends who’d contracted it, but he couldn’t quite remember what exactly the disease entailed. So, with a little sigh, he decided to follow the link. It wasn’t quite noon yet, so he still had a few hours before he had to get ready for work. Might as well._ _

_The Hanahaki Disease is an illness contracted through one-sided love. Flowers will begin to grow inside of the lung cavity, feeding upon the emotions of its host. The patient, upon contraction, will begin to cough or throw up flower petals._

__Kibum felt himself grow cold, and he swallowed heavily. “Flowers… in the lung cavity? Because of-- one-sided love.. That’s ridiculous.” He muttered to himself. Despite what he said, he continued scrolling, eyebrows scrunched together in concentration._ _

_Recent studies have shown that the development of the disease is likely connected to heredity. Not everyone who suffers from an unrequited love will catch the disease. Through a study conducted through September 2016 to March 2017 by Dr. Chwa Kang PhD., it was shown that cases of Hanahaki Disease has drastically risen. Reason unknown._

__The further Kibum read, the more anxious he got. He really didn’t do well with sickness. Plus.. who could… who the hell could this “one-sided love” have come from? He swallowed thickly, considering his options. It wasn’t Taemin, he’s dating Minho; definitely not Minho either, because frankly, the younger scared him sometimes with how passionate he got during competitive games.. It couldn’t be Jinki, either, because Jinki was somewhat more of an older brother to him, and, frankly… the elder’s bad jokes and odd (gross) sweatiness would drive him insane._ _

__Which left Kibum with one answer, which he realized was kind of obvious the entire time. Jonghyun was the only one who’d caught his eye in the way he did. The entire time he’d spoken to the other last night, he’d felt like a fish caught on a hook. Unable to free himself from Jonghyun’s clutches, but, then again, did he really want to? Even now, thinking about how Jonghyun had spoken to him in that soft, velvety voice of his stirred up warmth in Kibum’s chest._ _

__Kibum cleared his throat, his eyes watering as he felt something tickling the back of his throat. That same nausea that he’d woken up with was beginning to come back, and, fearing that he might throw up some more petals, he quickly tried to think about something other than Jonghyun. He fumbled for his phone, scrolling down desperately to find something in this God-forsaken article that might actually help him._ _

_There are only two documented methods of curing Hanahaki Disease. The first and quickest method of treatment is for the patient to confess to the recipient of their crush, or vice versa. If the love is returned, the blossom will wither and die, and naturally be expelled with no further complications.  
The second is surgery. The surgery is relatively cheap and risk-free. However, the only catch is this: whatever feelings the patient had for the one they loved will be removed along with the infection. There have been no documented instances of the feelings ever returning. It will be as if the patient had never loved the person to begin with._

_Left untreated, the disease will continue to grow more severe, eventually suffocating the patient or causing lung collapse._

__The last section left a bad taste in Kibum’s mouth. Left untreated, there was a possibility he could actually die? For some reason, that left him feeling oddly… sullen; but not because of the whole death thing. Kibum didn’t know Jonghyun very well, but he absolutely wanted to change that. There was a tug deep in his heart; an urge to learn more about the pretty pink-haired boy with the alluring smile and voice that was equally as addicting. It was just…_ _

_unfair._

__❁_ _

__The Bau House was a great place to work. A quaint little cafe in the Hapjeong district of Seoul, it wasn’t too far from Kibum’s flat. However, that wasn’t the best part-- no… the best thing about his job was that it was a dog cafe. Though no dog could ever beat Commes Des and Garçon, it made him miss the two poodles a little less._ _

However, today, no amount of cute dogs could appease the anxiety gripping his heart. On the way to the cafe, he’d taken the time to read a little bit more about the disease. The more he read, the more certain he was that this was _definitely_ a supernatural sort of thing. According to statements written by survivors, the disease’s progression was influenced by the host’s emotions, as well as how often they thought about the object of their affection. 

__In fact, even before he’d arrived to his workplace, he had to duck behind a nearby building into an alleyway, choking and gasping as he coughed up flowers for the second time that day. What he’d coughed up looked less like flower petals and more like… leaves. Some sort of leaves. Briefly, Kibum wondered if herbs were included in this disease thing, but he was too busy feeling miserable over the awful taste it left in his mouth to dwell on the thought for very long._ _

__Work was monotonous, as always. A few new dogs came around, including an especially fluffy shiba inu that he absolutely adored, finding every spare moment he could to pet and play with it._ _

__He was in the midst of finishing off a dog drawing in the latte he’d been making for a customer when he heard a familiar voice-- no, two familiar voices drift in from the direction of the front door. Quickly adding a couple of finishing touches to his latte art, he rushed to take it out to the customer so that he could greet the two who had come in._ _

__Jinki came to visit him as often as he could, which Kibum appreciated greatly. Albeit a little annoying at times, because seriously, Jinki had better things to do, Kibum still liked to be around the other. He suspected that Jinki was just here to play with the dogs, but… still._ _

__This time, however, Jinki had come with Jonghyun. Kibum felt his stomach twist itself into knots as he approached the two. Trying to ignore the fact that he had _literal flowers growing in his lungs,_ Kibum smiled as Jonghyun made eye contact with him, and warmth bubbled up in his chest when he saw Jonghyun smile back._ _

__Glancing around to make sure there were no customers that needed something at the moment, he gestured for the two to come sit with him at a vacant table._ _

__“So, Jonghyun… are you here to cry over some more dogs?” Kibum set his elbows on the table, resting his chin on his palms and gazing at Jonghyun with a teasing smirk set on his lips. Jonghyun, seeming flabbergasted, turned to give Jinki an accusatory look. Jinki abruptly looked away, finding something very interesting to look at outside._ _

__“No! I mean-- no promises, but that was one time. I actually- I mean, Jinki and I just wanted to come and visit you, and plus I’m a photographer… not sure if I mentioned that last night… so I kind of wanted to come and take some pictures for my blog.” Jonghyun, Kibum noted, seemed to have a habit of rambling. Generally, Kibum kind of hated that; he didn’t enjoy having his ear talked off, but he was strangely okay with it when it was Jonghyun who was doing it. He wasn’t sure if that was because of this stupid, stupid crush he had on the older boy or if it was just his voice, but either way…_ _

“Do you sing or something? You have a really nice voice.” Kibum didn’t really care if this counted as flirting, and it’d be _awful nice_ if Jinki wasn’t there with them just in case the elder felt like teasing him, but Kibum would take what he could get. Now that he thought about it, Jonghyun had given him his number… But talking in person was much nicer, albeit the horrible tickling in his throat was beginning to come back, along with the nausea. _Not now… at least wait until they leave…_ He thought exasperatedly, clearing his throat a little. 

__Jonghyun, flushing slightly, rubbed the back of his neck and looked away, though a pleased, almost embarrassed smile was evident on his face. “I don’t sing… professionally, no. I used to be the DJ for one of the local stations here in Seoul, though. Once that program ended, I got into photography.” Jonghyun was looking back at Kibum by the time he finished speaking, a significantly brighter smile replacing the previous one. It was positively blinding. Kibum didn’t really mind._ _

_A DJ, huh… I wonder if I can find any recordings of it online…_ Kibum thought idly, tilting his head just a little bit. However- that would mean he’d have to ask for the name of the radio show. Which would then mean that Jonghyun would probably know why he asked for the name of the show in the first place, probably, because Jonghyun didn’t exactly seem to be too terribly oblivious, and-- 

Kibum blinked as he heard Jinki clear his throat. He blinked out of his daze to find his elder giving him a knowing look. Ah. Jinki had caught on faster than he’d anticipated. Though, Kibum wasn’t exactly being _subtle,_ either. Shifting his gaze over to Jonghyun, he noted that the pink-haired boy hadn’t noticed that Kibum had been staring at him, spaced out. He spared another glance over to Jinki, grimacing as Jinki wiggled his eyebrows in a suggestive fashion at him. 

__Kibum was ready to open his mouth, possibly throw down with Jinki over the faces he was making at him, but Jinki beat him to it. With a smile, Jinki announced,_ _

__“I’m gonna head out. I have to go… pick up my little sister. From soccer practice.”_ _

__And with that, Jinki made his exit. The two boys left at the table could do nothing but stare._ _

__That bastard._ _

Kibum hissed incredulously. “He doesn’t even _have_ a sister, that snake. And-- soccer? That’s Minho’s thing. What, is Minho his little sister now?--” He was ready to continue, fuming, when he heard a chuckle from across the table. Kibum blinked, eyeing Jonghyun. “Yah… why’re you laughing at me?” He’d meant for that sentence to come out more angrily, but simply couldn’t when Jonghyun’s laughter made him feel so _warm._

__“It’s just-- you’re really funny when you’re riled up, Kibummie.”_ _

If anyone ever asked him, Kibum would say that he absolutely, definitely, positively, did _not_ blush at _“Kibummie.”_

__❁_ _

Jonghyun, as Kibum discovered, was excellent company. During the rest of the duration of Kibum’s slacking off-- no, _break,_ it was really a _break--_ he’d learned quite a few things about Jonghyun. 

Firstly, the radio show Jonghyun had been a DJ for was called Blue Night. Kibum was definitely going to look into it. Jonghyun also had a dog, a sweet little dachshund named Roo, and also that Jonghyun’s nickname during high school was, in fact, _Bling Bling Jonghyun._ Even though Kibum had promised not to laugh at the other for that, he did anyway. Jonghyun almost hit him with a plate. 

__It was really good._ _

__❁_ _

__That night, while listening to Blue Night as he promised himself he would, Kibum threw up more flowers. He almost cracked a smile at the many small blue petals floating in his toilet, accompanied by blood this time. He knew what this flower was, mostly because Jonghyun had told him that it was his favorite flower earlier that day._ _

__Forget Me Nots._ _

__This disease sure had a sick sense of humor, huh?_ _

__❁_ _

__The disease was progressing much more quickly than Kibum had anticipated. He expected it had something to do with how often he was hanging out with Jonghyun these days. And thinking about him. It was hard not to think about him-- he was undoubtedly smitten with the man, Kibum knew that much. And yet…. And yet. He couldn’t bring himself to confess, even with the flower bush undoubtedly growing within his lungs choking him, vines creeping up his esophagus, thorns hooking into his fragile insides--_ _

__Kibum didn’t make it to the toilet that time._ _

__White roses, with thorns this time. Or, he thought they were white at least; there was too much blood to be positive. It burned terribly as they came up._ _

__❁_ _

__This was going too fast.. Much too fast. Jinki was catching on, though he knew the other couldn’t possibly know he had Hanahaki._ _

__...Until he caught him in the act of throwing up the accursed flowers. Maybe it was the fact that he’d called off of work too many times this month. Or how he hadn’t really gone out to hang out with the rest of the group. Or, perhaps it was simply because he hadn’t been answering Jinki’s texts all day. Anyway, Kibum certainly regretted giving Jinki a spare copy of the key to his flat, because Kibum was currently in the middle of throwing up-- no, it was moreso he was choking on the flowers infesting his airway, and was pulling them out with his bare hands, blooms and stems and all, and Kibum was definitely still self-conscious enough to be embarrassed of how absolutely wrecked he probably looked at the moment._ _

__He was half-conscious, in a haze of agony, and maybe, just maybe the flower branches were finally ripping right through his lungs. In his dazed state, Kibum vaguely wondered what kind of flowers were currently causing him to suffocate now. They looked like magnolias, maybe, but Kibum was no master of flower identification, so maybe he’d never know._ _

__Before he knew it, his best friend was on his knees beside him, warm hands placed comfortingly on both of his shoulders. He was aware that Jinki was speaking to him, but couldn’t hear him over the sound of his own blood roaring in his ears._ _

_Can’t hear, can’t think, can’t hear, can’t think…_

__A strangled noise finally wrenched itself from Kibum’s throat as he expelled all of the flowers attacking his system- for now. Slouching forward and gripping the rim of the toilet bowl as if it was a lifeline, he panted harshly as he allowed a few stray tears to slip from his eyes._ _

__As soon as Kibum’s surroundings entered his awareness again, he turned to gaze at Jinki with red-rimmed eyes. For a moment, he enjoyed a period of silence. Nothing but him, Jinki, the comforting circle that Jinki was currently rubbing into his back, and a beautiful flower bush killing him slowly from the inside. It was nice for a short moment._ _

__Then, Jinki shattered the silence, taking his peace with it, “Who is it?”_ _

__“...Huh?” Kibum rasped dumbly as soon as he found his voice._ _

__“The-- The one making you…” Jinki trailed off, swallowing hard. He gestured to the mess of petals and blood in front of him. “...hurt like that. I know what… Hanahaki Disease is, Kibum. Please tell me who it is. You’re going to die at this rate-- hell, you-- you might not even last the night. Please. You need to confess, or.. Or get the surgery--”_ _

__“No!” Kibum cut him off with a cry, flinching as another wave of pain washed over him. Jinki’s words struck him like a whip, hurting almost as much as the parasites growing inside of him at that moment. “Surgery isn’t… it’s not an option, I can’t just… forget about my feelings for him, Jinki..”_ _

__“So it’s a guy?” Jinki leaned forward expectantly. Kibum flinched. He’d just narrowed down the options for Jinki to guess from… great._ _

__“Yeah, it is.. I, um.. Is that a problem?” He mumbled, uneasy. Jinki had never been particularly closed-minded, but… you never know._ _

__Jinki blinked once, twice, and then sniggered. “Kibum, you… you really expected me to believe that you were straight? Do you realize how you stare at Jonghy-...” Jinki choked on his own sentence, mouth falling open in an almost comedic fashion. “...It’s Jonghyun. You’re in love with Jonghyun, and that’s why…”_ _

__Kibum refused to make eye contact, swallowing weakly. Hearing Jonghyun’s name triggered another hit of nausea, but he refused to let anything come up again. Another episode like that might just kill him. All he could choke out was a nervous “yeah, it is.”_ _

__Suddenly, Jinki grinned, clapping his hands together. “Oh man.. this works out perfectly! You have no idea how relieved I am that it’s Jonghyun--” Kibum reached out and grabbed the other’s hand to get Jinki’s attention._ _

Clearing his throat with some difficulty, Kibum gave him the most annoyed look he could muster. “You-- Would it kill you to stop being so goddamn vague with me and tell me why exactly this is a _good_ thing?” 

__Jinki simply flashed him his signature gummy smile._ _

__“You’ll just have to agree to go out with me if you want to find out, huh?”_ _

__❁_ _

__Kibum was annoyed. He was annoyed, and tired, in pain-- Annoyed._ _

__Jinki didn’t give him much of a choice in the matter, practically manhandling him to get him ready to go out “for a night in town.” For such a soft guy, he could be very forceful if he wanted to be. That and Jinki had threatened to call for backup (Minho), had Kibum refused. Frankly speaking, Minho was a brute, so Kibum really didn’t have any other choice but to let Jinki have his way and fix up his appearance._ _

Thinking back to that, Kibum almost regretted not refusing Jinki and just pushing him out of his flat. _This,_ whatever it was, was too much. His elder had brought him to the Bau House. Seriously. The Bau House, his own goddamn workplace, and for what? He’d been sitting here for at least ten minutes now, and was getting rather aggravated, and just wanted to go home and cuddle with his poodles and maybe just let this stupid flower disease take him already-- 

__But then, just like that, every complaint that Kibum could think of crumbled away in his mind as he spotted a familiar mop of bright pink hair enter the cafe. Jonghyun looked-- well. Frankly, he looked stunning. A familiar feeling stirred in Kibum’s stomach, much like the night he’d first laid eyes on the pretty boy. This. This wasn’t a simple crush, or puppy love, or anything like that. Kibum hadn’t just fallen in love, he’d tripped into it-- smashed face-first into it, even._ _

__However, Jonghyun had a rather unfavorable look on his face. He looked concerned, maybe. Kibum immediately decided that he hated that expression on the other._ _

__Suddenly, it hit him-- why exactly did Jonghyun look so worried? Had Jinki told him? Did Jonghyun know already, how Kibum felt?_ _

__Kibum shot to his feet, almost tripping out of the booth he’d been sitting in as he rushed to approach Jonghyun. The other had the same idea, however, and before Kibum could say anything, the pink-haired boy was enveloping him in a hug-- a very tight one, at that. Kibum hoped that his ribs wouldn’t be bruised tomorrow. He reached up to return his crush’s hug, but stopped halfway through the movement. He thought he could hear a soft snuffling noise coming from the other. Was he… crying?_ _

__Before Kibum could speak up, Jonghyun beat him to it again. “I thought-- when you-- you had me so worried-- Kibummie- Kibummie… I didn’t see you for so long, I thought you were sick and dying, and then.. And then what would I do? The guy I really like dying before I could confess-- That’s really cruel, isn’t it? Isn’t it??”_ _

__Jonghyun was practically sobbing now, and definitely causing a scene, and Kibum really couldn’t understand him very well through his hiccupy whines, but there was one piece of information that Kibum immediately hyperfocused on. Confess? That could only mean that his feelings, these flowers he’d been taking such good care of for a long time now, were finally being returned._ _

__“Jjong… Jjong, please let go.. Hard to breathe…” Kibum wheezed out, furiously patting his over emotional friend’s shoulders in an attempt to get him to release his steel trap of a hug. Surprisingly enough, Jonghyun released him, still sniffling._ _

__Kibum shifted awkwardly on his feet, his chest feeling… oddly light. Then, it hit him-_ _

_There are only two documented methods of curing Hanahaki Disease. The first and quickest method of treatment is for the patient to confess to the recipient of their crush, or vice versa. If the love is returned, the blossom will wither and die, and naturally be expelled with no further complications._

__A confession. A reciprocated confession. Through shared love, the blossom feeding off of Kibum’s misery of his love being unreciprocated would starve and wither away. With this realization, Kibum inhaled sharply, before barking out, “I really--! I like you too, Jonghyun, so much--”_ _

__Kibum wasn’t really sure if he could quite handle the look on Jonghyun’s face after he admitted to returning the other’s love. He sort of reminded Kibum of an excited puppy receiving a treat._ _

__“F...For how long?”_ _

__Kibum looked away quickly, cheeks heating. He let out an embarrassed chuckle. “Honestly, uh… Since I first laid my eyes on you?” He cringed. That was.. bad. Really bad. He felt positively greasy after saying that._ _

Jonghyun, however, seemed rather pleased by his answer, nevermind the fact that he was also giggling-- _giggling--_ at Kibum’s awkward, if not cheesy, confession. He frowned after a moment, however, and the concerned look reappeared on his face. “But… why were you holed up in your home for so long? I was so worried, Jinki said you weren’t answering his texts at all..” 

__Kibum swallowed hard. This was it-- the moment he’d been waiting for. He needed to be honest with Jonghyun about what had happened to him. It was only what he deserved to know, after all.  
Wringing the hem of his shirt between his hands, Kibum took in a breath, “I… after the first night we met, I developed Hanahaki Disease as a result of falling for you. Earlier, Jinki discovered me… puking up whole blossoms and blood, and.. Well. Forced me to come here. I didn’t know why at first, but then I realized… he just wanted to play matchmaker. The bastard,” Kibum hissed out the last sentence, brows furrowing as he pouted._ _

__Suddenly, a fist was catching the collar of his shirt and pulling him down. Before he could register what exactly was going on, there was a pressure of something against his lips, and--_ _

__..Oh._ _

_Oh._

__Jonghyun was kissing him. Jonghyun was kissing him, and it was quite possibly the best thing he’d ever experienced. His lips were just as soft as they appeared, and warm, too, just like the rest of him. His eyes were squeezed shut tightly, nose scrunched a bit, and Kibum’s heart fluttered warmly. Closing his eyes as well, he returned the other’s kiss, fully aware that they were kissing in the middle of a cafe. A dog cafe. A dog cafe that he worked at, and his manager probably wasn’t very pleased, but he wasn’t on shift right now so honestly? His manager could deal with it._ _

__It ended all too soon, and Kibum had to bite back a disappointed whimper from escaping him._ _

__Jonghyun, looking rather flustered, made eye contact with him for a moment before looking away. “I-- sorry, uh, I just… was wondering if your lips felt as nice as they looked for a while now… so…” It was amazing how Jonghyun was able to voice exactly what Kibum had been thinking since the night they’d met._ _

__“Date me.” Kibum suddenly blurted out._ _

__“Yeah, sure-- Wait- what? Really?” Jonghyun gaped at him, his face a shade of pink that could definitely rival his hair._ _

__“Yeah. I’m sure. Date me. I even grew flowers in my chest for your sake, so it’s the least you could do.” Kibum said jokingly, a pretty smile gracing his lips._ _

__The joke seemed to visibly relax Jonghyun, and he couldn’t help but laugh a little. “You drive a hard bargain, Kibummie…” He leaned closer, whispering, “Though, between you and me… I’m only in this for the cute dogs you mentioned owning.”_ _

_“Hey!”_

**Author's Note:**

> so... that was that! if you made it this far... i wanna thank you! this is my first kpop fic i've written... and i do hope to write more in the future  
> this was a birthday gift for my best friend lily-- lustpair on tumblr
> 
> if you have anything you'd like to see from me in the future, please do hmu for a request! i stan a lot more groups than just shinee. you can find me on tumblr @ cherriboys.tumblr.com


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